Michael W Cluck, MD PHD

I was injured at work and needed surgery to my back. I have been fighting Sedgwick workers comp for a year and a half. After numerous court appearances I could not get the surgery approved even after we proved my injury was work related. What did work was the consent and wonderful work by Dr. Clucks team, specifically Vanessa, Dr. Clucks Medical Assistant. They were able to get the surgery I needed approved by showing the worker comp's doctors that it was completely necessary for the surgery. You have no ideas how hard this process has been on me and my family. I was about to give up on fighting but Vanessa convince me to stay in the fight. Now I am not waiting anymore I am now focused on my recovery. I would recommend anyone with neck or back pain to Dr. Cluck. They will give you the help you need and more.

Dr. Cluck is the best. The girls in his office are very polite and always very helpful. He really made me feel at ease, unlike others doctors. Dr. cluck performed my back surgery back in Dec 2016, i could not stand up, i couldn't walk without feeling excruciating pain. My spine was curved the wrong way. Dr. Cluck got me within a small percentage the correct way. He performed a miracle i feel on my back. Dr. Cluck is just a wonderful person, terrific surgeon . Thank you doctor cluck

I've been a patient of Dr. Cluck for quite a while now, as we discovered I have 1 blown disc and 1 ready to blow, he recommended every possible option other then surgery, so we did it, PT, Cort shots, the works, well unfortunately they are now bone to bone.He understands that at a young 55 I am super physically active and now that this has been painful to even stand for 5 min, we finally discussed surgery, he explains every detail, he's very easy to understand as well as talk too, I feel 150% sure that I am in extraordinarily great hands.I walk into his office and both girls are so friendly and welcoming and efficient in every sense of the word. He's got a great team and they/we have a great Doctor! I feel so positive about this upcoming procedure that I day dream about long hikes along great trails!! Thank you all at Dr Clucks office for making me feel a part of!! You ALL ROCK!!

I originally went to see Dr. Cluck as a second opinion. I had severe back pain for several years. The pain was radiating from my gluts down the back of my legs. The original Surgeon I had been seeing had recommended a a lumbar fusion, (TLIF) This procedure would have involved cutting through my back muscles.Dr. Cluck indicated I needed a fusion as well. However, Dr. Cluck performs an advanced fusion where there would be no need to cut through the muscle. The first part of the procedure would be going in through my side. Most important was the delivery of the information from Dr. Cluck. He was patient and explained in laymen terms, the entire process. I felt confident from the beginning. I am 5 months post op. My surgery was a huge success. I am pain free and on my way to having my life back.

Saw Dr .Cluck to go over the mri about my back.He gave me a prescription for 8 physical therapy sessions.I finished them a month ago and was suggested by the therapist to do 8 more.I have been trying for a month to get the office to fax the prescription to pt.I have called 3 times and they are always pleasant and say they will take care of it.Well,as of today no prescription has been sent.I have had a few times I needed pt and I have NEVER encountered such a huge hassle as I have had with this office.I guess I could go get it and hand deliver it to pt but that would probably be a major hassle for them.

I have attempted to get in to see this "Doctor" for several months and there is always delays...the last one being them moving. Previous occurrences had them losing my appointment, and not being in the system. When my Fiancee, "tried" to call to get updated information, she was told that we needed to now give them a Doctor's release of information from other Doctors. This should have been done when Dr. Cluck told me that I needed to have some major surgeries done to fix several disks several months ago.The Secretary/Office Manger (Alisia and Erin) were very rude and hung up on my Fiancee several times. We had not heard from Sarah, the 3rd contact. This is not how you run an office and/or Customer Service. This place has dropped the ball several times to where I would not let them even apply a band-aid. On a side note, my Fiancee has worked in medical facilities in the past and she is lit up as this is not how you treat patients. She asked specific questions about what was going on or not going on and the office personnel refused to answer to the point of hanging up. That should be a clear indication that they have no idea what they are even doing. She is in the process of contacting the California Board of Medicine in which we do see this particular Doctor's information.I have also worked in the Customer Service field in the past and no matter what happens, you fix the problem regardless....not hang up because you are too lazy and get butt-hurt because someone is upset with your poor service.I have Scoliosis and 6 disks in question and have been in major pain for 12 years and am at my wits end. At Dr. Clucks own confession, he is not capable of fixing all of my needs and would need to send me to SF to take care of everything but I am only requesting to have 1 or 2 disks fixed but the poor office personnel make that impossible.I will be asking my PCP to refer me to a more competent office because I have absolutely zero faith in Dr. Cluck's office. His current staff does need to be terminated.When I get great service, I am happy to rant and rave about it but when I get total crap service, I am also willing to warn others about making a poor decision as I am willing to do here.No, I would not recommend this place to anybody!

I cant believe i havent left a review.It's been several years now but I first came to Dr. Cluck as a last resort. My friend referred him to me after he had a great experience.Long story short I was suffering from back issues for 3-4 years (herniated disc) it progressively got worse over the years due to my reluctance to give up basketball and snowboarding. It all came full circle when one day i started feeling this pinch in my back and constant pain all day. The pinch eventually got worse and i started limping. That's when i knew i had a bigger issue.I had tried everything conservative prior....acupuncture, 2 rounds of 12 week PT, pain injections, chiropractor (ART method). Nothing worked.Came into the office and Dr Cluck could tell on my face that i had been suffering. My daily life was affected with pain 24/7 and stress from it and not being able to be active. He immediately ordered an MRI and the results showed a badly herniated L4-L5. He gave me 2 choices.....manage with pain med/injections or microdiscectomy....he didnt guarantee it would rid of my pain nor would I return back to normal. He gave me the pros and cons and let me make the decision on my own. I talked to my buddy which had the procedure done just 3 months before and he said he wished he did it sooner.Ended up doing the surgery and the minute i woke up the pain was gone. The recovery was long and hard but I was able to return to playing bball and an active lifestyle 10 months later. Back surgeries are always tricky and the results are always guaranteed. Glad mine was.

I recently had a 2nd fusion that Dr Cluck did to repair all the damage another Doctor did here in Merced . My prior surgery left me crippled , left leg in constant severe nerve pain that I suffered for almost 3 years due to the first Dr leaving me to suffer with useless injections , I thought I was doomed to stay this way forever . Long story short , I was referred to Dr Cluck he immediately repaired me with an 11 hour surgery that left me completely pain free from the moment I woke up in recovery, I could feel the difference ! I recovered very quickly I'm still pain free , and happy and productive again . Thank God Merced has Dr Cluck now !!! He's THE BEST !! Highly recommended . Treats all his patients amazing and he really cares about his patients . Judith Perez

Please read my story. . I had been searching for a orthopedic specialist for some time and found Dr. Cluck, who was listed on my medical providers list. His medical training looked very good and was a clear match for my particular surgery needs. My medical condition was cervical and lumbar disk herniation. Setting up an appointment with Dr. Cluck was difficult. His office phones were either full and not accepting messages or could not get a hold of anyone in his office. The phone call would just disconnect. (This should have been a warning to me, but when your in such pain, hope gets in the way). . I stayed consistent and at some point was to make an appointment. 4 weeks later I came in to El Camino Hospital to meet with Dr. Michael Cluck. I gave him my MRI. We discussed the matter of surgery. He wanted me to get additional X-rays of my spine and so I did. He asked me to follow up him after the x-rays. I contacted his office, and again there was no answer. I contacted the hospital and speak to his assistant. She had an availability appointment in 4 weeks. I took that appointment. By this time my feet were completely numb and the loss of feeling was moving up my legs. My fingers and arms were in pain. . On the appointment day (El Camino Hospital) Dr. Clucks assistant brought me into the exam room. When Dr. Cluck came in to the room, he had the appearance of being distracted with other activities. I could clearly see he was very distant. He said a few words to me and began walking away. He asked his secretary to give me a referral for physical therapy. I followed him up to the counter and said, what is going on? I'm confused. . he had nothing to say. Just decided he did not have time. (I was shocked by his demeanor). As if my waiting two months in my condition meant nothing to him. . And that was exactly it. A total and complete lack of concern or empathy. . I left the appointment perplexed. . . When I got out to my car, I immediately looked up "Yelp Reviews" and was finding multiple bad reviews. . . So here we are. . with more behavior. . This is always a sign when a person is troubled. Doctor or not, it doesn't matter. What ever the case may be. Perhaps he is hurting more in his personal life, then patients are in there physical life. . So, this is what we have to deal with when searching for medical help. Not every doctor, nurse or staff member is going to be respectful and courteous. Not everyone will be helpful. Not everyone will have empathy. . I am not mad at people like him for wasting so much of my time carelessly. But there are doctors out there like him, who conduct there business as if patients are products. . And yes, its true. He does not care about you or me. . And then of course, there Yelp. . to help us when they don't.

Jerry G from Los Gatos is / was RIGHT - Office Manager cares about HERSELF and not othersWhen you attempt to point out to her that even though your insurance is not contracted with them...BUT...that your insurance APPROVES OUT OF NETWORK every time it's PRE-AUTHORIZED...she turns on the IGNORE switch